Chain making machine



Aug 28, 1934. E. MUELLER 1,971,989

CHAIN MAKING MACHINE Filed May 15, 1951 5 Sheets-Sheet l l I I l l l I IN VEN TOR.

BY ATTORNEYS. 1

Aug. 28, 1934. MUELLER 1,971,989

CHAIN MAKING MACHINE Filed May 15, 1931 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 unrm mmmwunmu mma m ,W'

lllllllllllllllllllllllllllll lninilm 70 IN V EN TOR.

zhlrmw/z BY ATTORNEYS. I

Aug. 28, 1934. MUELLER 1,971,989

CHAIN MAKING MACHINE Filed May 15, 1931 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 I N VEN TOR. lhzz'f/yize //e/' A TTORNEYS.

Aug. 28, 1934. MUELLER 1,971,989

CHAIN MAKING MACHINE Filed May 15, 1951 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 IN VEN TOR.

, ATTORNEYS.

Aug. 28, 1934. E. MUELLER 1,971,989

CHAIN MAKING MACHINE Filed May 15, 1931 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 IN VEN TOR.

ATTORNEYS.

. UNITED STATES PATENT. OFFICE-" tion' with the accompanying drawings, and more.

Patented Aug. 28, 1934 CHAIN MAKING MACHINE Y Emil Mueller, Cranstoni R.:I., assignor to Speidel Chain 00., Providence, R. I., a. firm composed of Frederic Speidel and Eugen Speidel I Application May 15,- 1931', Serial No. 537,642

16 Claims. (o1. se -15) 1 This invention relates to a chain making machine and has for its object to provide a con struction which will mechanically form from a strip of sheet stock articulate links and join them together, in forming a chain of any desired length.

Another object of the invention is th'e provision of aconstruction by which the links as formed may be in full view of the operator of the machine that any flaws might be' immedi-:

ately detected. V g

' Another object of the invention is'the pro vision of an anvil acting "from above the link against which the closing former presses the link in closing the same. about the previously formed link thus permitting the forming'of the link-to be better viewed by the operator.

Another object of the invention is the'feeding of the formed link laterally and'in substantial-' ly the plane of the, fed strip to be observed by the operator rather than dropped through a tube or the like as has been customary.

Another object of the machine is the provision of a construction by-which adesired design on the chain may be formed more sharply than from dies or the like ornamentation. I

Another object of the invention is the provision of a construction by-which the ornamentation is marked'in the work partially by pressure and then finished bystriking the tool with a hammer.

A still further object ofthe invention is a provision of an improved feeding mechanism which will be anti-frictionally' guided and pressed into gripping position.

A still further object of the invention is the provision of a feeding means so located-as to pull the strip of work into thema'chine and through the first part of the forming operations until the strip is bent and stiffened and from this point on pushing the strip through the 'ma-. chine. I v With these and" other objects andadvantageous features in View, the inventionconsists joi a novel arrangement of parts more fullyi'disclosed in'the detailed description following, inconjuncparticularly set forthfin the appended claims.

Fig; l'is a front elevation of the machine;

r Fig. 2"is an end view of the machine as-a; whole with he pulley removed or a 'sectionon I r e l plain ribbon band 15 in suitable reel form is fed cam 'lever for the anvil withtheremaining portions of the machine removed for the sake of. clearness.

Fig. 4 isa section on line 4-4 of Fig. 3. v Fig, 5 is a perspective view of a strip showing the different formations which it takes in passing throughithe machineg. a

Fig. 6' is a sectional view on line 6-6 of Fig. 1. Figures 17, 8 and 9 are sectional views on enlarged scale. through thechain and link in three different positionsinthe. operation of the parts.

. Fig. 10 is a section-on line. 1010 of-Fig. 1... Fig. 11 is a section on line 11-1l of Fig.1. In the making of link'ohains from sheet stockjj itis-desirable that thesebe made mechanically in automatic machines whereby a strip of sheet stock blank may be fed into, the machine and the finished chain with engravingthereon emerge from the machine. I graying may be more distinct I employ a striking or hammer mechanism on the pressure tools for impressing this ornamentation which causesthe ornamentation to have..a sharper hue and stand out more distinctly. .Also.v the stock when fed into the machineis more or less flexible and may be easily bent and therefore instead of pushing this stock into the machine which might cause buckling thereof I pull the stock into the machine until the firstjiewoperations are performed and the stock is bent to stiffen it after which vI push, the stockthrough the remaining operations in the machine without fear of bending the same, and my feeding operation is such that the pulling blocks ride between rollers and are thus supported. from the, bottom .as wellas pressed from the. top by anti-rfriction means. v I also find it desirable to arrange the operating'mechanism' so that the formed link maybe viewed asfunited to the chain to. detect any .imperfectionsin the link, so that should a flaw occur the machine may be imme-. diately stopped anda new link caused to. replace the imperfect one without wasting'several links of the chain which might otherwise be necessaryj and the following is a detailed description of the presentembodiment of this invention illustrating the preferredfrneans by which these advantageoiis results may be accomplished. r

With refernceto the drawingsFig. 5;il1ustrates somewhat diagrammaticallya blank strip and the several operations in forming a chain in the shape which it obtains on passing through they machine. Thus it will be observed that the into the machine and in the first op'eration opening 161and notch 17 are cut therein as well asornamentation 18 impressed thereon. At the sec= And in order that the enits mounted on thecam shaft 32 heretoiore mentioned. The feeding of the strip takes place when 0nd operation the stock is bent both to ofiset a part 19 of the body and bend the edge 200i the tongue 21. The next operation of the machine bends the tongue 21 downwardly to form a right angle fold 22 after which the link is severed as at 23 and connected to the end link 24 or the chain which receives the tongue 21 through its opening 16 afterwhich the tongue is bent into closed position to "complete the operations thereon as illustrated in Figures 7, 8 and 9, and then itis moved into a position to receive the next link formed and so on.

Referring to Fig. 1, the operation of piercingthe opening 16, cutting the notch 17 and ornamenting as at 18 takes pla'ce 'between 'fthelower die 25 and the upper die 26 suitablymo'ved a plunger or reciprocating rod 27, rocker arm 28 pivoted as at 29 and cam 36 connected to the rocker arm 28 by a strip 31, cam 30 being moved about cam shaft 32 as is disclosed in Figfill. first bending operation takes .place between a lower tool 33 and an upper tool "3 1. The sec'ond bending operation takes .place between lower tool 35v and upper tool 36 'whi1'e thefsevering takes place between cutte'rs'iil and o. Between thetwo bending operations the 'lovverffeed"block 39*aiid which actuate these plungers are all of identical construction and it will suliice for description to refer to Fig. '10 showing the plunger "43 for the second pending operation with its rocker arm 46 mounted upon shaft 29 and actuated by "a suitable cam which in this "instance is 47 engaging roller 4'8 mounted upon the endo'f the arm 46.

It will of course beun'derstoo'd that the cams for actuating each of the rocker arms are of "different shape to cause the desired timing coordination of the different "working parts.

The feeding occurs between previously anon-'- tioned blocks '39 and (note particularly Fig ures '3 and 2 which are moved apart by spring 49. The lower block 391s carried on's'haft'52 and rests upon anti-friction roll 50 mounted in'the bottom plate 51 of the machine and shaft 152 is slidably moimted fin hearing 53 and moved in one direction bymeans of spring M'engagingthebear ing .53 and collar 55 secured on the shaft 52. The

shaftis moved'in the opposite direction hy'means of a rocker arm '56 pivoted as at 57 to engage the adjustable set screw 5'8 in the en'd fl59 01? "the shaft Fig. 2 and in full lines in'Fig. 1 "whichfcam 60 is suitable downward movement on the plunger .42

causes pressure on the upper 'bl'oek. E10 through the antiefrlctlonrdll 61 and the Shaft EiZfhodily moves the blocks to feedthe stripforwardi f At: the endof the stroke'tlie pressure uponfthelevei" rod 42 releases and the spring 49 separates blocks 39 and 40, and: .a return .movement of the blocks. occurs by reason of spring 54 for another bite or hold upon the strip.

i The severing toolBQ lin mov ingtoTseverjthe partially forrnedl'ink as illustratedat thei-righthand and of Fig 5 also moves ameinber 6 3 acting as an anvil into engagement. ipg glifip ofsheetstcck-in substantlallya her} 156 fll as the cuttersv work and at a time just prior to this severing, jaws 64 and 65 grip the partially formed link and hold it in a position illustrated in Fig. 7 whereby the end link 66 of the formed chain 67 is caused to rise by means of the inclined support 68 to cause the opening 16 in this end link topass over the tongue 21 after which the former 69"contin-ues its upward movement and=closes the tongue 21 "of the link as illustrated in Fig. 8. Thisoperation occurs through the action of rock lever '70 pivoted at 71 and operated by means "o'f'a rod 72 having a roll '73 on the end thereof andengaging cam 74 which forces the carrier designated generally 75 upwardly. The carrier v-hasmounted"therein a slide 76 at the upper end or which is the inclined support portion 68. This 'siid'e'oarries'apin *7? for engagement with a stop 73 fixed'io'n th'e frame. of the machine and limits the movement of slide 76 of the carrier which is'yielding'ly supported by spring 81 mounted in memberSO of the slideandthrough yielding -of spring '81 lthe carrier lcontinues to move upwardly andcause the former 69 mounted thereon to {fold or ..closethe tongue of'thellink. Y

A pawl. 82 is'pressed 'by' spring 153 to bind thechain against the inclined support surface otthe carrier. Gil-during its movement and while th'elinklslbeinglformed. The cutter and anvil.

GZ carry arm.'8'3 having a .pin adjacent its end for engagement with the pin 84on 'the clamp 82 mountedon' the support '68 to lift the clamp and release thechain and ipermit'its .ierwa-rd movement by the jaws-'61 and 65. fil hese Jaws aremounted upon the carriage '88 whiehis moved i'n'one direction bylspringy2 and movedlforward or in the other direction by lever 89 engaging an adjustable abutment 911, the lever. being actuated by'cam 91 whereby the-.'formed portion of the enema moved to position it for the reception o'f a new link. Thejaws are closed'by spring 837 andreleased by inean's of cam 86 acting on roll 35 at the end of extension 84 connected 'to the-upper jaw. l I 3 v QIInorder the designfimpressedby the 'tools may be more sharply brought-out, I provide a hammer 93 at the end of alever arm $4 pivoted at..95 to the 'frame portion 96 of the mac'hine. The "end portion 191'? of said lever engages the cam '93 uponthe cam shaft '32 which holds the hammer :in raised position .as illustrated in Fig. 2 and permits this hammer 'to drop assisted by spring 994, into contact with the hardened striker member 160 of the slide 2? whereby the design which is impressed the work by -the forming tools 25 and 26 'is made more distinct, Iclaim; v ,1. Ina chain making mach-ine, means for feeding astrip of sheet stock, means for partially bend'ingalink, means for causing the bent portion of said link to be threaded through the previously .formed' link at a point in line with the strip, and means subsequently operating in averticalmath for closing said. portion of -the partially-formed J '1 QZJTn'aQclia'in makingmachine, means for feeding a strip of sheet stock, meansx'for partially forminga link, means forcaus'ing the same to be threaded through the previously formed link, anuanvilsmember, means for moving the anvil overthe partially ionnedlinhand ineans subsequently moving upwardlyg'for. closing the partially formed link by forcing it against anvil member.-

V 3. In a chain making-machine, meansiorfeedzontal plane, means for partially forming a link, means for causing the same to be threaded through a previously formed link at a point in line with the strip of sheet stock, means'for completing the formation of the partially formed link, and means for feeding the last formed link laterally with respect to the movement of the strip and in substantially a horizontal plane.

4. In a chain making machine, means for feeding a strip of sheet stock in substantially a horizontal plane, means for partially forming a link, means for causing the same to be threaded through a previously formed link, means for completing the formation of the partially formed link, and means for feeding the last formed link laterally with respect to the movement of the strip and in substantially the plane of the strip being fed.

5. In a chain making machine, means for feeding a strip of sheet stock, means for partially forming a link, means for lifting a portion of the chain and the previously formed link to thread therethrough the partially formed link and a portion of said means continuing its movement to close the partly formed link.

6. In a chain making machine, means for feed ing a strip of sheet stock means for partially forming a link, means for lifting and clamping thereto a portion of the chain and means for releasing said chain and moving it relative to said lifting means.

'7. In a chain making machine, means for feeding a strip of sheetstock, means for partially forming a link, means for lifting and clamping thereto a portion of the chain and means for releasing said chain and moving it relative to said lifting means and in substantially the plane of the fed stock.

8. In a chain making machine, two separate means for bending sheet stock, means for feeding a strip of sheet stock, means for cutting the strip stock into desired shape, said feeding means located between said bending means to pull the stock through the first bending operation on the machine.

9. In a chain making machine, means for feeding a strip of sheet stock, means for cutting the strip stock into desired shape, means for partially bending the strip stock, means for further bending and operating on the strip stock said feeding means being located between said bending means to push the strip to the second bending operation whereby the stock is pulled in its more flexible state and pushed after being stifiened by bending.

10. In a chain making machine, means for feeding a strip of sheet stock means for ornamenting said strip comprising means for moving tools into engagement with the strip and subsequently striking the tools with a blow from a hammer or the like to more sharply impress the ornamentation of the tool therein.

11. In a chain making machine, means for cutting a strip into suitable shape, means for parand at the same time gripping and holding it and means for moving the formed chain to attach the gripped link thereto.

13. In a chain making machine means for cutting a strip into suitable shape, means for partially bending said strip, feeding means for pulling said strip through said means and pushing it through the subsequent operation of the machine, means for further bending said strip, and means for severing the partially formed link and at the same time gripping and holding it and means for moving the formed chain to attach the gripped link thereto and means for causing said gripping means to feed the last formed link and chain into a new position, and means for manipulating said link from this new position for the reception of the next link.

14. A chain making machine means for advancing a strip of sheet stock in substantially a horizontal plane, means for forming links from said sheet stock, means for attaching said links to a chain, and means for advancing the last formed and attached link in the chain laterally with respect to the movement of the strip, and in substantially a horizontal plane and in substantially the same plane as the sheet stock fed and prior to the attaching of the next link to the chain.

15. A chain making machine including means for advancing a strip of sheet stock in substantially a horizontal plane to be subsequently formed into a chain, second means for holding the chain in position when an adjoining link formed from said advancing strip is connected thereto, and means releasing the second means and means for advancing the last connected link in the chain laterally with respect to the movement of the strip and in substantially the same horizontal plane as the strip of sheet stock fed and prior to the attaching of the next link to the chain.

16. A chain making machine, means for feeding a partially formed link in substantially a horizontal plane, means for attaching said partially formed link to a chain, and means for advancing the last attached link in the chain laterally with respect to the direction'of movement of the partially formed link, and in substantially a horizontal plane.

, EMIL MUELLER. 

